Signaling system



` Feb. 14, 1933. R 5. EAlLE- Y ET ,M v 1,897,104

SIGNALING SYSTEM Filed June 28, 1952 5g Wai L 3 i 5B |NvENToRs S; Zia

Patented Feb. 14, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT- oFFIcE RAND S. BAILEY, OF GLEN BDGE, .AND HUGH F. SHOFFSTALL, OF MAPLEWOOD, NEW

JERSEY, ASSIGNB/S AMERICAN TELEIPHONE &, TELEGRAPH COMPANY, A COB- PORATION 0F NEW YORK SIGNALING SYSTEM Application tiled June 28,

This invention relates to signaling systems, and, more particularly, to those systems in which means are provided tor changing the normal connections of such systems by means of cords and plugs or the lilre, or tor removing therefrom or adding thereto particular units of apparatus or parts of the system as are required, tor example, tor testing purposes.

There such features are desired,it is the usual practice to provide jacks in the transmission circuits at those points in the circuits where the connections are to be changed whenever necessary or where tests are to be made. These jacks are usually arranged so that the desired connection to the transmission circuits may be accomplished by inserting suitable plugs equipped with cords into these jacks. Vhen it is necessary to connect testing or other apparatus to only one of the circuits, normally closed contacts are sometimes embodied in the physical structures ot vthe jacks themselves and these are connected in series with the transmission or signaling circuits and they are arranged so that the act ot inserting the plug opens these contacts, thereby disconnecting the remaining portions of the circuits.

Jacks which may satisfactorily accomplish this purpose must be of rugged construction and, because of their inclusion of a number ot normally closed contacts, they must necessarily occupy considerable space. Where a large number oi circuits must be accommodated at one point in the circuits. it may not be possible to malte all of the acls conveniently accessible to the operator at that point. Furthermore, the openings of the j aclrs permit the accumulation o'li dust on the iaclr springs and this is lrnown to interfere with the proper functioning of the normally closed contacts.

One ot the objects of the invention is to provide circuit arrangements whereby jacks of comparatively small dimensions which do not have normally closed contacts may be used in association with relays for the purposes described above. Another object oi the invention is to provide jacks which do not have normally closed contacts, in association with relays to provide means for securing greater freedom from dust accumulations on the 1932. Serial No. 619,796.

contacts of the l transmission circuits. A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby jacks provided for testing or other purposes may be remotely located with respect to the normal location of the transmission circuits to be tested without appreciable effect on the electrical characteristics of the circuits.

Other objects will be understood from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawing, in which Figures 1 and 2 show transmissioncircuits to which the invention has been applied, and Figs. 3 and l show testing equipment which may be connected to the circuits of Figs. 1 and 2.

In Fig. l there are shown two transmission lines L1 and L2 arranged in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. i Conductors 1A and 1B ot line L1 are normally connected to conductors 2A and 2B, respectively, of line L2 through the two armatures and the normally closed contacts ot relay R. Associated with line L1 is a jack J1 which has its springs normally .connected to line Ll over conductors 1A and 1B. Similarly, a jack J2 associated with line L2 has its springs normally connected to line L2 over conductors 2A and 2B. The relay R has two separate windings supported on a common core and these are designated W1 and W2. One terminal of the upper winding W1 is connected to a grounded battery B, and the other terminal of the upper winding is connected to the sleeve of jack J l over conductor 1S. One terminal of the lower winding W2 is connected to ground and the other terminal is connected to the sleeve of jack J2 over conductor 2S.

Two lines L3 and L2, which are similar to lines L1 and L2, respectively, are shown in the lower part of Fig. l; Lines L3 and L2, are connected through the two armatures and the normally closed contacts of relay R and have associated with them jacks J 3 and J4. Jacks J 3 and J.; are connected to the lines L3 and LL in the same manner as are the jacks 'J1 and J2 and the lines L1 and L2, previously described, and this description need not be repeated. Between ,15 i overL* tandLf4 to adevice orl apparatus 'cone @5f cord will' beinserted'in jack J4 vassociated the two circuits is shown a cord K having 3 conductors designated A, B and S, and

Yequippedat each end with plugs designated P1 and P2, as shown, and these plugs are adapted to coopcraterwithanyfof the jacks currents `Vor signals may .emanate yfrorna source connected to linev L1, flow over lineV L1, over the back contacts of the armatures of relaylt and-over the line L2 to, for exams)E ple, a receiving device or apparatus connected or coupledto lineyL-5.a1 Similarly, cur-vVV rents or signalsmay flow from another source -vnectedfo'r coupledto lineV Lgf y Suppose that-it is'now desired todisconnect line L2' from .line Ll, asgi'migh'tbe required 'if linefLz becomes inoperative, `andthat it is desiredto establishv positive connection from.

` lines L51 and L5 are Jacks J5 vand Jf,frespecline L1 over line 'L45 Plugl?1 forP-Zof cord K will then be insertedin jack 4'J1 associ'- ated with line Lf-and'- the .other .plug of the with .line'Ln Thenll these connections are completed, Vcurrent ,willlow )from battery 'bothzgoperate Y f The operation of vrelayl R' disconnects iline Bfover the winding Wl'iof `relay R,fover conductor. 1S tol-the sleeve of .jackJQ then overy the sleeve of the pluginsertedin jack, J1, over conductor S of cord K, over thesleeve of the plug insertedin jack J 5, over the sleeve of jack J4, overV conductor; 4S, through. 4the Winding W of relay Rf, over 'ground vand back to battery B. Relays'f'R and R will L2 frornline Llbylopeningthe ba'ckcontacts Vofthearniatures of this relay.. The opera-v LVVtion of .'.relay R similarly disconnec-tsline :L5 frorn'L5. At the saine" time the trans# mission circuit is established Y,from line A'L1 over conductorsflA. andlB ,over the springs "ofi jack J 5, over the"conductors,Amandv B of cord K, over the springs of ack J 4, and over the conductors 4A" andflBv Vto line Lgf When either.: of the 'plugs' oi 'cord `K is Vremoved jacks J5 and. J2 randisuchl connection may beV fromv thfe jack in whichit is inserted after the 'connection ust described 'has' been estab-V `"lished, the 4circuit for operatin'grelav's R and R will be 'simultaneouslybroken, therebyfreleasing these relaysand reestablishing their 5 original connections.

A similar connection JrnayQf-bel established `between line Laand line L5 by inserting plugs of a cord (notshownysirnilar to cord 5K in .made fat the same time ,as .that between lines .Ll-fandLhor it' may bemade independently, Y if so desired. .In the latterV case,-a circuit for operating relays R and is completed over thesleeveconductor offtheassociatedcord so i y thattheserelayswill operate and thereby disconnect. line Lrfrom line Laandsimilarly disconnect line L1v from linev L2 in the manl ner previously described.

It is. desirable to locate the various jacks so that they may be conveniently engaged by the'plugs of one or morefcords similar to the Vone designated Kv and it may not always be practicable'to locate the. various relays. adj acenttov the jacks. If the distance between ithesegjac'ks and relays' becomes too great,

lthrough the' rnormally closed` contacts and-4 'armatures of relay R2. vilssociatedwith tively,^which'have their sleeve members connected, respectively, lto the windingsWy and ct relay R2 .in thev manner previously described;y The springs of jack J5 are con! nected tothe normallyopencontacts 5 and' of relay R2 over. conductorsA and 5B zand the springs of jack J 5 arer connected .tothe normally'opencontactsG-and 6. of rlaylt2 overconductors6Al and 6B.' Consequentf ly, the capacity between conductors l 5A .and 5Bl or between `conductors 6A and 6B will vhaveno effect on the electrical characteristics of lines L5 and lL5 Vundernorrnal 1 conditions.

, If .a cord, suchy as lcordf-K,Jshown'inFig. l, establishes a connection'between jaclrJ5 and-*another jack,A sufchas J5, an operating circuit `will be completed .for relay R2 over the sleeve vconductor of the lcord s'that relay REyWill-bev operated'.l lThe circuit completed will include the battery B, the upperzwinding .of relay R2,*the .sleevefof jack J 5, the sleeve contacts and conductorof the "cord, the sleeve of Jack J 5,'the lower Winding of relay Rz'and ground.' The' operation of relayk R2 will' disconnect -line L5 Vfrom line'L5 by the opening vjoit its outer' contacts. At. the same-z time,

contactsA 5 and rk5 `of relay R2 will'become closed, thereby-connecting conductors 5A and 5B.' of line L5 to thesprings of jack J5 over conductors 54AV Vand 5B.' Also, contacts '6 and 6 of relay R2 will become closed', thereby connecting conducto-rs Aand 6B of line L'to the springs of j ack` J5 over conductors GA -and 6B. Itzis thus evident that a' transmis- "sion circuit may be established from lineL5, or from any oneof a plurality of lines-.re-

-. ceiving currents or signals,.of'which L5`is the only one shown,.over acord, such as'cord Kof Fig. 1', to any onel of a'pluralityf'of lines, only one of which is shown and desigy nated line L5, practically `,in the-same. way as described :hereinabove for Fig. l.- I (Obviously, a transmissionfcircuitnlmayl also be "f Fig. y

established in the same manner from line L5 to any line such as L2 or L,L of Fig. 1 or from line LG to any line such as L;l or L3 ot Fig. 1.)

It will be noted that in each of the above arrangements the contacts, which are 1ncluded in the transmission circuit for disconnecting the parts of the circuit when connections are to be changed, are located on relays, and these relays can be constructed to give any desired degree of freedom from dust accumulations en the contacts by any of the methods well known in the art. For purposes of testing the transmission circuits or any parts there-ot or ot the apparatus associated therewith, testing apparatus may be provided and connected as shown either in Fig. 3 or Fig. 4l. ln the arrangement of Fig. 3 the testing apparatus, which may be of any welllrnown type, is connected to the tip and ring contacts ot the plug PS over conductors 8 and 9 ot the cord K. The sleeve member oit' plug F3 is connected over conductor 10 to the junction of two resistances E and F, the other terminals ot whichA ar-e connected i'n series with a battery B, one terminal of which is grounded. Plug P3 is located so that it may be connected directly to any one of the various jacks of the several transmission circuits shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It it is desired to malte a test on a line such as L1, plug P3 will be inserted in jack J l which is associated with line L1. Current will then -liow from battery B, through winding W1 of relay R, conductor 1S, the sleeve of ack J1, the sleeve member of plug P3, conductor 10, and resistance F to ground. Current will also iiow c0ntinuously from battery Bl shown in Fig. 3, through resistances E and F. By virtue ot the grounding of one side of battery B1, the winding W1 ot relay R will be in parallel relation to resistance E and the resulting increased current flow in winding 71 will be sutiicient to operate relay R.

rlhe operation of relay R disconnects line L2 from line Ll so that the presence oi line L2 will not interfere with the testing of line L1. At the same time, a connection will be completed from the testing equipment shown in Fig. 8 over conductors 8 and 9 of cord K, over the tip and ring sides oiE plug P3, over the springs of jack J1, and over the conductors 1A and 1B to conductors 1A and 1B of line L1.

It it is desired to test line L2, plug P3 will, ot course, be inserted in jack J 2 associated with line L2. lWinding 72 of relay R will then be in parallel relation to resistance F of Fig. 3, which will also cause the operation of relay B because of the increased current flowing through winding 72. The operation oiLx relay R disconnects line L1 from line L2, and the connection of the testing equipment to line L2 becomes compl-eted in the manner previously described. Obviously, the testing equipment may be used in the same manner as described i-'or testing the lines shown in Fig. 2.

In the arrangement ot Fig. 4, the testing equipment is connected to the springs of a jack J7 over conductors 11 and 12. The sleeve member of jack J7 is connected to the junction of two resistances E and F', the other terminals of which are connected in series with the battery B, one terminal ot' which is grounded. If it is desired to test a line, such as L1 shown in Fig. 1, one plug of a cord, such as cord K of Fig. 1, is inserted l in jack J 7 and the other plug of the cord is inserted in jack J1 associated with line L1. A circ-uit is then established from battery B et Fig. 1 over the upper winding WV, of' relay R, over conductor 1S, conductor S of cord4 K, the sleeve of ack J7, the conductor 13, resistanee F and ground. The winding W1 oi relay R will be connected in parallel relation with resistance E and the resulting current in winding 71 will be sufficient to operate relay R. The operation of relay R disconnects line L2 from line L1, while a connection trom the testing equipment of Fig. l is established over conductors 11 and 12, over the springs of jack J 7, conductors A and B of cord K, springs of jaclr J1 and conductors 1A and 1B to conductors 1A and 1B of line L1. Obviously, a similar connection may be made between jack J7 of Fig. 1 and a jack, such as J2 of Fig. 1, associated with a line such as L2, and winding VZ of the relay R associated with such a line would be in parallel relation to resistance F which would cause the operation of the relay in the manner previously described in connection with Fig. 3.

It should be understood that the lines L2, Li or LG of Figs. 1 and 2 may be similar to the lines L1, L3 or L5, respectively, to which they are normally connected er that all or some of them may represent the terminating circuit of any of the various types oit apparatus, such as repeating coils, amplifiers, signaling apparatus, or various other devices that might be associated with these lines. it should also be understood that the arrangements shown in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 may be interposed at any point er points in transmission circuit where testing is desired or where twn or more lines need to be connected, and that these arrangements may be provided on both sides of apparatus unit-s, such as an ainplier or ampliliers, for efraniple, or on both sides ot any other portion or part of the transmissicn circuit to which a separate connection may be desired for testing or other purposes.

1lNhile this invention has been shown and described in certain particular arrangement-s merely for the purpose of illustration, it will Y f ,Y f wenn! be understood? the'generalprinoipleS-.Qf *this inventioulmaybe eppliefito-.Qthrend Y .widely vaileff Organizations.; without.- deneuitr ing from thelspirit of the inlventionyandthe ."75 scopenof theiip'pe'nddclaims., Y f

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l. InV a signaling vsystenn;the;coinhinaitioifi i A.

ofaJA plurality of lines each transmitting cui?. rents from its. inputrcifrcu-it to its outputy cir-V Y "l0 cuit, a, rel-ay associated' with each line having Y an irlnzitu-ref normallyinterposedgin seriesv Y with theline soV that-the, lineV will remain closed'until therelay operate@tvsz'ol` jacks asl socted With each line, oneifwhich is .G0114 l Y '155 nected to the input circuitof theli-ne and g the other to litsoutput circuit, "al cord equipped at each endwitha plfugggeschplug being adapted toengage in one-.of said` jacks, y

and means responsive 'totheinsertion of one c' "20 of the plu-gs ofthe'cordinto one of the jacks Y associe-ted with the input'circuit 0f anyone# of saidlines end'tothe insertion othe'other of the plugsinto the jack associated with the 1 P Voutput cirouitofnnother. ofgsaidA-jlinesi for 25 operzitingthe relays obothlines, thereby V- disconnecting'the inputcircuits 4oi the two lines from their respective output circuits and connecting the inputeiiouitofI the first inentioned line to the output ciicuit of the sec- 30 ondnientioned line.' Y

The combination of two. two-,Wire lines each having an input circuit angoutput p circuit, four jacks, onel jack'. provided for", one of the circuits of each two-Vivire. England l '35 means including .woord having t plug. at veach` .endfforgconnecting `the input circuit of one/ofsaid lines with the output circuit of the ,other kof said' linesand for simultaneous- 1y disconnectingithe input.circuitsof-both i lines from their respective output circuits.- p

8. The combination of arfirst inputcircuit, itil-st outputcircuityfirst relay having twoY armatures which connect the iirstinput veirvcuitxvith the first output circuit, a' second in-V put circuit, a, second output circuit,y a. second Y relay having tivo 'armatures which connect v the second input circuit With thesecond out- "putv circuit, andV means for .simultaneously operatingboth relaysi sov ias to disconnect the if i" 5Q first and second input circuits ,from therst 4 and second output circuits, 'respectivelyrand for connecting the first inputcircuit v to the second 'output circuit. V i Y l In testimony whereof, VWe have signedour "'55 naines tothis speciicatin this 27th day of June'1932. L Y

BANDS. BAILEY. -4 HUGH F. SHOFFSTALL.y

.c 60 Y f 

